Quick question... where did June go? Guess July was ready to make it's debut!

Friday evening, once the Mr got home from work, we cranked up the grill for some yummy grilled chicken, loaded down red potatoes, baked beans and homemade Jim N Nicks cheesy biscuits. I got the recipe from Stephanie over at Plain Chicken. And tomorrow you'll get to read all about my visit with Stephanie! Tune in, you won't want to miss it!

I had some of you ask what all was in our loaded down red potatoes. It's really simple... cut the red potatoes leaving the skin on, boil, then drain the water off of them, add a dollop or two of sour cream, some butter, and cheese. Mix together carefully not to mash the potatoes. Bake on 350° for 15-20 minutes and you'll have an amazing side dish that everyone in the family will love!

Saturday morning had us not wanting to really get up, but things had to be done. For breakfast we had leftover biscuits from the night before. They were the perfect treat for breakfast. The Mr had to run to work for a bit to help some customers, and while he was out, I grabbed the mail and found more birthday love in the mailbox. My sweet friend Jessica sent me a birthday happy. Around lunch time, the Mr showed up with my favorite, a Coke icee. My throat was hurting a bit and it was the perfect remedy. While the Mr was out cutting the grass, I found one of my daylily beauties blooming.

I made one of our favorite desserts, Husband's Delight, while the grill was heating up. We enjoyed some grilled burgers and homemade fries before diving into the dessert!

Sunday morning the Mr washed the vehicles and then came in and told me to get ready. We got on the road and headed to our local cinema. We decided to see The Heat and we LOVED it. The stadium seats were sooo comfy and we were one of eight people in the theater. #awesome Afterwards we went through the drive thru at DQ for some hot fudge sundaes. And I finally found the perfect place for our engagement collage pictures. After some afternoon naps we chowed down on some chicken spaghetti before watching some realty tv and heading off to bed. BTW, I'm loving BigBrother!! #BB15

How did you celebrate the last weekend of June 2013? Here's to July!!

the Friday five ~ link up #26

Hellooooooo Friday! It's been a great week to celebrate a birthday!! And, thanks for linking up with me today. I was too tired to get this link up set up last night to post early today, but y'all know I wouldn't miss a #FridayFive!! So... here we go!

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the Sowell life's Friday five...

1) {2nd in the Nation... we'll take it} If you've been following us for any length of time, you know that we love our Mississippi State bulldogs. For the first time ever, our diamond dawgs were playing for the National title of the College World Series! This was the first time for Mississippi State to play for ANY kind of National title. So we were a tad bit excited. They played against UCLA, and the best 2 out of 3 took the title home. We lost Monday and Tuesday night, so no National title for us, but hey, 2nd in the Nation... you better believe we'll take it. So proud of our dawgs!!

2) {Let's get organized, organized, I wanna get organized} Just sing those words to Oliva Newton John's song, Let's Get Physical. (Just FYI, if you click on the song title, you're gonna get your Friday laugh. I'm still laughing, and I might not ever get that 80s video out of my head. Wow! Ha!) Okay, back to getting organized. We will officially be in our home a full year Labor Day weekend, and some of our closets have gotten outta hand. So I took a few minutes to get one of our hall closets back in order. I was hoping it would get me in the mood to work on our home office. Yeah, that didn't happen. Ha!

3) {Banana Cookies} I saw we had some bananas getting overly rip on Tuesday, so turned to google to help me find recipes for banana cookies. In case you missed the first banana recipe I tried, you'll find it here. This recipe didn't disappoint. And, I got a mmmmm, and a thumbs up from an 18 month old and a 5 year old. Don't worry, I'll be posting the recipe next week. And, they might be the softest cookies I've ever made. #yum

4) {I finally met Jenny} I'm guessing I met Jenny from Strickly Stricklands last September (I think) through this little blog world. We've gotten to know each other on a personal level through emails and texts. She was a wealth of knowledge for me in December, and we've been there for each other ever since. One day, we won't share tears of sadness... we will share tears of joy! I DO believe this! Anyway, Jenny and her hubs came to Bham for her scheduled surgery Thursday. So we met up Wednesday night at The Cheesecake Factory to meet, for the first time, in person. She and her husband are so sweet, and we can't wait to see them again. Unfortunately, Jenny's surgery was canceled, and will have to be rescheduled because of her doctor having back issues, so keep Jenny in your prayers as she awaits her new surgery date!

5) {Happy Birthday to ME} Yes, yesterday was my birthday. And it was one I'll never forget. I woke up to one of three birthday cards from the Mr (two lovie dovie cards, and one hilarious one). The sun finally, kinda, peeked out and I met my friend Sarah and her little ones (the cookie tasters) at the pool. We had so much fun! Then it was time to head home and get ready for a big, HUGE, evening at Chuy's for my birthday where I had the pleasure of meeting the one and only Stephanie from Plain Chicken. And because it was so awesome, I'm gonna have a post dedicated just to last night, next week. When I came home, I had beautiful flowers waiting on me from my girl Angie Denney. AND, I got to talk to my Abby D on the phone. Pretty awesome day, y'all! And thank you for all the emails, texts, comments and tweets helping me celebrate yesterday. Y'all are THE best!

Now, who's ready to link up?!! Thanks for stopping by, linking up, sharing the link up on your blog and on twitter! I appreciate y'all spreading the word more than you'll ever know!! Enjoy your weekend, y'all! 

A Self Interview

As you know, I'm the editor over at Alabama Women Bloggers, and we've been live for two months now. We've had such a wonderful response to our blogging community, and today we are getting to know our sister bloggers a little better through a Self Interview.

***If any other bloggers not in Alabama want to do this self interview, you can... just comment below or tweet me so I can read yours!***

 

1. What part of the state do you call home?

We live just a few miles South of Birmingham — what I like to call the center of the state!

2. How long have you been blogging?

I started blogging in January 2009. 

3. Why did you start blogging?

Originally I started this blog as a way to way document all the social events I was attending as the editor of a social magazine in Mississippi. After meeting the man of my dreams and now husband, the blog changed to more of an online scrapbook and a lifestyle blog.

4. What is your favorite part of being a member of the Alabama Women Bloggers community?

Hands down, it's meeting all of my sister bloggers in Alabama and seeing they love blogging just as much as I do!

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

If you're like me, you grew up planning your life out. You know, married by 22... mom by 24... yeah, that didn't happen. I've learned that you can't plan your life, because God already has. What I'd like to see in 5 years is a house full of little Sowell kids for the Mr and I to chase around while enjoying our sweet southern life.

6. If you could choose an actress to play you in your life, who would you choose and why?

Okay, y'all might laugh at this, but I love Melissa McCarthy. Everyone always loves her character and laughs throughout whatever she plays. 

7. Name 5 things on your Bucket List that you hope you’ll check off before you die?

Giving birth to little Sowell's, visit New York, vacation in Hawaii, see our 50th wedding anniversary, own a little cabin on a lake. 

8. If you could be known for one thing, what would it be and why?

I'd hope I'm already known for this, but being a Christian. I want my light to shine for Him through my words on my blog, through my actions and my conversations.

9. Describe the best moment in your life.

March 12, 2012 — when I married my soulmate and best friend.

10. If you could “be” anything (no consequences, no fear), what would you “be”?

A talk show host. Call me crazy, but I'd love the chance to interview folks for a living and give them a good dose of southern hospitality. 

11. What or who inspires you to blog?

Life... our life inspires me to blog. I truly do love our sweet southern life, and I want others to enjoy my writing and hopefully inspire them to continue to write posts for their blog.

12. We’re headed to your neck of the woods… what restaurant would you recommend?

One of the first places we ate at once we moved to Alabama was Jim N Nicks... if you haven't been, well you've got to give it a try!

13. What’s a southern tradition you and your family have?

We sit down at our table for every lunch and dinner at our home. We both think it's very important to come together and talk about our day and enjoy each other's company while eating our meals together. 

14. If you could pick your favorite blog post from your blog this year, what would it be?

It's funny, I came up with these questions, but some of them are hard to answer! Ha! However, I think this would be my most heartfelt post this year... A Mother WIthout A Child

15. We all love social media, tell us your links so we can follow you!

Twitter  Facebook  Instagram  Bloglovin

Paula Deen...

As a child brought up in a southern home, and now living my southern life with my husband, I've always loved (love) Paula Deen. Not only have I watched her for years on TV, read her magazines and even read her books, but I've personally met her in person, twice.

I can tell you from meeting Paula on both occasions that she is just as southern as me. The second time I met Paula, I had the opportunity to spend the entire day with her in Vicksburg, Mississippi. I not only saw her as you see her on TV, but I was behind the scenes with her between shows. To me, she was the same person you see on stage or TV as she was backstage. She's a mother, a grandmother, a wife, and a true southern lady. The only thing I was shocked to see was that she smoked. Which I've heard she has quit since that day. However, when her grandson had a dirty diaper, she was the one who said "hold the show, I've got to take care of this." Needless to say, it was a pleasure spending the day getting to know her, and her family.

Now to the issue at hand... from what I've read and seen in the news is that this is something that was said 30 years ago. Was it right to be said then, no. But I want you to think back just 5 or 10 years ago. Think about something you said, think about the context of what you said and how you said it, should you be sued for saying it? Yes, most of us aren't national TV stars, and what we've said is usually heard in one ear and out the other. However, in the heat of a moment, what you said... should something like that be held against you forever?

I do believe in forgiveness. I look back at all the sins I have and continue to make in my life and think, wow, my God still loves me and forgives me every single day. Isn't that what we are called to do, forgive each other?

I understand that this "situation" takes on national controversy, but we shouldn't judge her until we have judged ourselves, first. I didn't see her interview this morning, but I've read that she did apologize, and furthermore I feel that lessons could be learned from her in her future shows. Cutting off her sponsorships, and TV shows for something she said off the air, I don't see the reasoning. Let's start cutting the shows that have to bleep every few seconds, and that use the Lord's name in vain constantly! Those are the ones that are putting negatively into the lives from young to old!
 
I didn't blog about this to start World War III here at the Sowell life, but I do have an opinion and I wanted it to be heard.

Walkabout with us...

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What is a Walkabout? It's a blog link-up party, every week here and with our co-hosts! Simply put your blog address or a specific post in the linky, visit some other people, and make some friends. Easy at that! I can't wait to talk to everyone! PS: You only have to link up with ONE of the co-hosts!

The Rules:

1. Please follow at least ONE hostess, and let us know you're a new follower and how to follow you! To be entered as next week's Mystery Host, follow all hosts from this week. 

Mystery Host Joy- The Sowell Life

Chantal- Scattered Shells

Jane- Poppiness

Sarah- G.I. Joe's Wife

Jamie- Handling with Grace

2. Try to visit 3-4 blogs that interest you. Take some time and let them know where you came from.

3. Grab the button and spread the word! (Not required, but just cool if you do). The more, the merrier.

A little blog lovin...

Hello my sweet blog readers. I hope y'all are having a wonderful Tuesday afternoon. We all know that google reader is supposedly going away soon, so I wanted to be sure y'all can still get my blog in your reader through... Bloglovin, Facebook and Twitter.

Just click on the links below to follow the Sowell life on these social media outlets!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Follow my blog on Facebook

Follow my blog on Twitter

4th of July Dessert Inspiration

My birthday might be this Thursday, but I'm a little more excited about next Thursday. Cause it's 4th of July, y'all!!

We celebrate at the lake with family, and this year will be no different. We can't wait to see all our relatives and enjoy spending time together. And I can't forget to mention the wonderful fireworks show provided by Shannon. It's the perfect way to end the day.

Last year I didn't have much time to prepare for the day food wise, but this year... I'm bringing my A game! Here are some of the things I've pinned from pinterest. Now which ones do I chose...

I'm leaning towards the cookies and/or the cupcakes. But what do you think? Do y'all have any other suggestions or recipes I should try? What are your plans for Independence Day? It's hard to believe it's just a little over a week away!!

Are you making a difference...

"What does it mean to you to have made a difference in this world? What are you doing to achieve that change, and how has it been made possible?" 

I'm teaming up with Kalyn and Lauren and their "Coffee and Conversation" link up! You can, too! Just answer the question above in a post, and link up to join in the conversation.

I'll start out by saying that every single person has made a difference in this world. It might have been through a smile, a special word of encouragement or even through a small act of kindness... each one of us has and can make a difference.

What does it mean to you to have made a difference in this world? What are you doing to achieve that change, and how has it been made possible?

To me, it means that I have given a little piece of myself in a positive way. And one of those ways I've been able to achieve that has been through blogging. I try not to use this place to be negative. I truly believe that blogging is a way to lift people up. When they read my posts, I want them to feel blessed in some small way. Whether I'm able to make them smile, implant a positive thought, or even give them a word of encouragement... that's what I want this blog to be about.

One of the biggest ways I've "heard" that I've made a difference was openly talking about our miscarriage. This post was the first time I mentioned the sometimes "taboo" word on my blog. But, I needed to get out my emotions, and the way I do that is through writing. This one post opened up a flood gate of emails, phone calls, texts, etc. of others coming forth to tell me that they, too, felt this pain, yet they didn't feel that they could talk about it publicly. It has allowed me to have deep conversations over emails and phone calls with them. Even though this was a very personal and private matter in our life and in their lives, this was also a way to share my faith with others. Who knew that something so painful could bring glory to His name?

Blogging about my faith, and bringing a positive light in a sometimes very dark world is my way of making a small difference in this world.

Our Lazy Weekend...

With this being the first official weekend of summer, we celebrated by staying indoors and in pajamas. This wasn't planned, and it wasn't how we really wanted to spend the weekend. However, we both apparently needed the rest.

Friday afternoon I went to the dr after dealing with sharp stabbing pains in my back and shoulder for two days. He said it was either severely pulled muscles, or pleurisy. However, since I hadn't been sick, he thought it was the pulled muscles. He sent me home with three prescriptions and said I needed to take it easy and rest for a few days. Of course I had to ignore his advice for a few hours because the dawgs were playing for their chance to play the College World Series Championship Game. I got home in time to see the start of the 3rd inning. And I got to witness their 3rd win in the CWS!!! Tomorrow night is the first game of the championship, and you better believe we're gonna be watching. All I can say is, #HailState!!

The Mr picked up dinner because the meds had kicked in and all I wanted to do was sleep. And sleep is exactly what happened. I crawled in the bed at 7:30 and didn't wake up until 6:30 the next morning. And after three nights with little to no sleep... it was needed.

Saturday morning after we finally got out of bed, we took to our favorite seats in the house and began operation lazy weekend. Most of the morning was spent watching TV, and a cat naps were had, too. We had a some sandwiches for lunch and then it was back to napping. In between napping I checked out the latest Southern Living Magazine. I can't wait to try out some of the recipes I found.

We finally got up to cook some dinner around 5:30. We made homemade lasagna and it hit the spot. And thankfully we have enough for leftovers. Have you ever made homemade lasagna? I'm not talking about getting the pre made pan in the frozen food section of the grocery and letting it thaw and bake. I'm talking about putting it all together. And it's really an easy recipe, and one your family will enjoy. Want the recipe, click here.

After dinner we watched Pitch Perfect, and it was okay but really not the best movie we thought it would be. What's with all the previews making these movies look awesome and then they turn out to be just a blah movie? Regardless, we were back in the bed at 9 for the night. And it didn't take us long before we were out like a light. His head cold meds and my prescriptions seem to make us zombies and has us fighting to stay awake after we take them.

Sunday morning I felt a little better, or my back was still numb, and I made some breakfast for the Mr and I. And y'all wouldn't believe the amount of people who still don't know what pigs-n-blanket are... so I'm going to give the three ingredient recipe today. It's so easy, you'll be making them every morning for breakfast.

What you'll need:
crescent rolls
cocktail sausages
shredded cheese

What you'll do:
Layout your triangles, and cut them in half. Sprinkle cheese on them, and then add a cocktail sausage to the larger end of the dough. Start rolling from the larger end and roll to the smaller end. Cook on 375 for 13 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

These are perfect for appetizers, tailgates, and of course breakfast. And your kids will love to help you create them.

The rest of the afternoon we did some relaxing, and some laundry. For dinner we're having crockpot BBQ chicken. You can find that recipe by clicking here. We have plenty of TV to watch tonight before bedtime. And that my friends, will round up our weekend.

What did y'all do to celebrate the first weekend of summer? I hope it was a little more eventful than our weekend. =)

Due Date

Today was the day we were given at our first OB appointment in October for our official due date. Who knows if we would have already given birth to our little one, or if he or she would still be cooking away. What we do know is that our little angel baby is being taken care of by our Heavenly Father. And while I'm selfish and mourn our baby every day, I know that this was God's plan.

I often wonder if our home would have been covered in pink or blue, or if he or she would have looked like me or the Mr. Would the baby have had a head full of my thick hair, or have that one little dimple like his or her daddy? We don't know all of these answers here on earth, but our little baby is perfect and in the hands of God.

This is the only picture we have of our little angel, and one that we treasure. But one day we will see our little one and have our answers.

Since we will never know what your actual birth date would have been... we celebrate today as your birth day. You'll never been forgotten, and you'll be loved for eternity.

Friday Five {link up} — #25

Happy Friday, y'all! It's been a great week, but I'm always happy to have a weekend at home with my hubby. Bring on the weekend!!!

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the Sowell life's Friday five...

1) {There's hope for my thumb yet...} We all know that my mom has the green thumb, and I might have gotten a little bit of that gene passed on to me. Basically I'm saying yes I can keep a plant alive, most of the time. I was really worried about this hibiscus plant, but it finally started blooming this week!

2) {Appetizer} We love, LOVE, to grill. And one of our favorite appetizers when we grill is smoked sausage. It's perfect with mustard and bbq sauce. What are your favorite appetizers while grilling?

3) {A little overnight visit from Marsie Belle} This adorable little spoiled rotten dachshund came to see us this week. And we had fun bird and squirrel watching off the back deck. The weather was perfect to just sit and enjoy all the sweet sounds of summer.

4) {A little pampering with mom} The last time mom came to visit we went to get mani and pedi's. So this trip, we decided to enjoy it all over again. Seriously, the way they massage our feet and legs puts me sound to sleep. Not kidding, I fell asleep twice this time. And we all know how much I love red, and dislike pink. So you'll be able to figure out pretty quick which nail polish I chose.

5) {Early birthday dinner} My parents came over and took us out to eat Thursday evening for a little early birthday celebration for me. My birthday is technically next Thursday, but who doesn't love celebrating for a few week? We went to LongHorn Steakhouse and ate so much food. It was delicious!

Now, who's ready to link up?!! Thanks for stopping by, linking up, sharing the link up on your blog and on twitter! I appreciate y'all spreading the word more than you'll ever know!! Enjoy your weekend, y'all! 

Did you know...

...that Minted has Christmas cards? Okay, okay... I know what you're thinking. Christmas, already? But, it's never too early to be thinking about the holidays, saving the mu-lah for gifts, and thinking about your Christmas cards. And I'll just say this... we love sending and receiving Christmas cards, and you better believe I'm always searching for the perfect card every year.

I want to show y'all some of my favorite Christmas photo cards that they offer...

All of them are precious. Of course, I still have about 3 or 4 months before I actually have to pick one to send to our family and friends.

Have y'all ever ordered from Minted? You'll have to head over and check out all the other cute products they offer!

Father's Day 2013

Father's Day is one of my favorite holidays because we get to spend time with all of my dad's side of the family. I love getting together with my cousins... we kinda get a little cray cray when we all get together, but it's all in good fun.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post we went out to lunch with the entire family at the Kozy Kitchen, and then went back to papaw's house for dessert and conversation. And that's also when all the cameras (or phones) come out for photo opps.

The father's we were celebrating — my Dad, my Papaw, and my Uncle Bob

We finally had all of papaw's grandkids under one roof...

We love papaw, and it's not just because he loves us!

Papaw and his daughter-in-laws... Aunt Phoebe, Mom and Aunt Beth

Papaw and Mrs. Betty

My brother, Brian, Dad and me...

Dad and me...

We had caramel cake for dessert, and it was scrumptious. Oh, and I can't forget to tell y'all that we set my mom up with an Instagram account.

We had a great Father's Day with our Henson family, and can't wait to see them again in a few months when we celebrate Papaw's birthday.